Creativity and Advertising

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Creativity and Advertising Innovative ideas and creative thinking are fundamental tools for enticing the consumer into purchasing products. Creativity is “the generation, development and transformation of ideas that are both novel and useful for solving problems” (Grifin, Morrison 2010). If companies have the necessary creative skills they can become empowered to showcase the uniqueness of their brand. The Barnardo’s ‘Silver Spoon’ campaign in 2003 drew on creative techniques in order to gain audience awareness of their charity. Barnardo’s used the shock factor in order to engage their audience. The startling images of new born babies with horrific objects in their mouths included cockroaches and syringes, were the replacement to the ‘silver spoon’ concept of being born into a wealthy family. By implementing these computer generated images, the consumer was immediately hooked into the campaign. Barnardos have used shock tactics “in their advertising feeling that they would make more impact on their target market”. (Withey 2007) Barnardo’s creative approach was targeted at parents in order to help them become aware of their child’s vulnerability, thus touching on their emotions. The CGI used contained green, black and white tones to create a implication of poverty and malnutrition. Even though Barnardos claimed “if only every child was born with a silver spoon”, the images of the silver spoon replaced with gruesome objects were what the creative professionals wanted the focus of the advertisement to be. The juxtaposition of the purity of a newborn baby with the filth of cockroaches and syringes grabbed the consumer’s emotions, however I believe it was taken a step too far; this was the reason why the advertisement was banned. Therefore, the marketing message Barnardo’s sought to achieve was overpowered by the negative images. Coca Cola showcased an
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